Drawtober: Bella Vita (Patreon)

lil overdue concept art of Mal’s (adoptive) mom 🦢, Ophelia Drake, stage name Bella Vita (Italian for “the good life”). She’s a mute swan- but don’t let her species name fool you, Ophelia is quite chatty when she’s not performing- and her fans know firsthand how charitable, talented, funny, approachable, and nice Bella Vita truly is. She’s very nice indeed. Nice, but not kind. But….well-meaning. Mal insists.

Bella Vita is currently one of the biggest stars of the FB world, a romantic ballad singer/songwriter whose fame far eclipses that of her renown classical composer husband, Galliard, or their adopted moody musical prodigy, Mal. When she’s not touring, Ophelia very much enjoys soaking up attention as everybody’s favorite quirky celebrity, doing things like filling her whirlpool jacuzzi with breadcrumbs, and of course adopting a leopard cub on a whim because it’s dark fur reminded her of a newly hatched swan cygnet. Impulsive, scatterbrained, and entirely self-centered, Ophelia has a….complicated relationship with her adult daughter. Despite this, she is the only force on earth that can make her surly birdy husband Galliard smile.

fun fact: Bella Vita has a peculiar (and very loud) cooing laugh, and speaks fractured English with a heavy Italian accent. She usually speaks to Mal in Italian.